SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Southern Conference announced its October athletes of the month today, highlighting excellence among student-athletes during the month. The athletes of the month are nominated by each member institution and selected by the conference office.
FOOTBALL - OFFENSE
Eric Breitenstein, Wofford, Jr., FB
Breitenstein rushed for 680 yards in five games and finished the month of October with 12 touchdowns. He scored at least two touchdowns in each game and averaged 136.0 yards per contest. Breitenstein had three games of at least 100-yards rushing last month, including a career-high 230 yards against Furman. He leads the league and ranks seventh in the nation with 120.2 rushing yards per game. Breitenstein leads the nation in scoring with 12.75 points per game through Wofford's first eight games.
Other Nominees: DeAndre Presley (Appalachian State), Terrell Dallas (The Citadel), Scott Riddle (Elon), Charlie Edwards (Georgia Southern), Chris Evans (Samford), Joel Bradford (Chattanooga) and Deja Alexander (Western Carolina).
FOOTBALL - DEFENSE
Jabari Fletcher, Appalachian State, Sr., DE
Fletcher was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week twice during October, a month in which he recorded 23 tackles, including 8 tackles for loss resulting in minus 23 yards. Fletcher recorded 4.5 sacks for minus 29 yards and recovered two fumbles. Fletcher scooped up a fumble and ran 40-yards for a touchdown in ASU's win over Furman on October 30, the first defensive score of the season for the Mountaineers. He added five quarterback hurries and one pass break-up in October. Fletcher was in on at least one tackle for loss in every game and recorded at least one sack in three different contests. He is fourth in the conference and tied for ninth nationally with 7.0 sacks this season.
Other Nominees: Tolu Akindele (The Citadel), Brandon Ward (Elon), Brent Russell (Georgia Southern), Bryce Smith (Samford), Ryan Consiglio (Chattanooga), Mitchell Bell (Western Carolina) and Ameet Pall (Wofford).
MEN'S SOCCER
Hakan Ilhan, UNCG, So., F
Ilhan recorded a point in six of eight matches during the month as the Spartans went 5-1-2 overall, 4-1-2 in league play, and were unbeaten in their last seven matches of the month. He scored five goals and had five assists for 15 points during the month. Ilhan's top game was a two-goal, one-assist effort in the Spartans' 4-1 win at Gardner-Webb on Oct. 22. For the season, Ilhan leads the Spartans in scoring with 23 points on eight goals and seven assists.
Others Nominated: Sean Dreybus (Appalachian State), Sean de Silva (College of Charleston), Greg Macnamara (Davidson), Chris Thomas (Elon), Alec Kann (Furman) and Jon Cox (Georgia Southern).
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Alyssa Whitehead, Samford, Jr., GK
Whitehead, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-3 goalkeeper from Hattiesburg, Miss., tallied eight shutouts in October as she helped lead Samford to an impressive 8-0-2 record against conference opponents. She finished the month with 31 saves and registered a near-perfect 0.28 goals-against average. In a total of 959:53 minutes in October, Whitehead only allowed three goals and helped the Bulldogs register a six-match winning streak and a 10-match undefeated streak. In critical Southern Conference wins against Chattanooga, Appalachian State and College of Charleston, she registered save totals of six, five and five, respectively.
Others Nominated: Sarah Schaidle (College of Charleston), Mariana Garcia (The Citadel), Allison Drutchas (Davidson), Chelsey Stark (Elon), Martha Hall (Furman), Sara Oland (Georgia Southern), Kristen Schmidbauer (UNCG) and Donna-Kay Henry (Chattnaooga).
VOLLEYBALL - OFFENSE
Sarabeth Peele, Davidson, Sr., OH
Peele, a senior from San Antonio, Texas, earned the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week twice during the month of October. In the first week of the month, Peele had back-to-back 21-kill performances against Wofford and Samford. The 3-2 win over Samford was the Wildcats first win ever over the Bulldogs in five meetings.
The following week, Peele had a pair of 20-kill matches and double-doubles. During the week, she led the Wildcats with 56-kills, averaging 4.67 per set, and 26 digs to help Davidson to a 2-1 record on the week. Against Gardner-Webb, the senior outside hitter tallied 23 kills and 13 digs for her first double-double of the week. Her second double-double of the week came against The Citadel, as she led Davidson with 20 kills and 12 digs while hitting a season-high .486.
Other Nominees: Anna Wagner (Appalachian State), Cole Dawley (College of Charleston), Tatum Jestila (The Citadel), Sarah Schermerhorn (Elon), Kelly Kirby (Furman), Parker Small (Georgia Southern), Ariel Newman (UNCG), Elizabeth Neisler (Samford), Heather Parman (Chattanooga) and Paloma Alvarez (Western Carolina).
VOLLEYBALL - DEFENSE
Sarah Havel, College of Charleston, Jr., MB
Havel, a junior from Carmel, Ind., recorded a school recorded 17 blocks at Elon on Oct. 23. The mark also tied the Southern Conference record. Havel totaled at least four blocks in every match of the month, including at least six blocks in six of 10 matches. She led the team in blocks in eight of the 10 matches this month and currently ranks third in the conference in blocks. The middle blocker was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week twice during October.
During October, Havel moved into the College of Charleston's all-time top 10 lists in solo blocks (ninth), block assists (seventh) and total blocks (10th).
Other Nominees: Caroline Sedon (Appalachian State), Kaona Mercer (The Citadel), Jennifer Chamblee (Davidson), Caroline Lemke (Elon), Elle Ross (Furman), Ashley Roe (Georgia Southern), Kayren Finney (UNCG), Alexis Bauer (Samford), Paula Passmore (Chattanooga) and Morgan Cochran (Western Carolina).
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Joey Thompson, UNCG, Jr.
Thompson, a junior from Columbia, Md., ran times of 24:32, 24:20 and 24:39 for his three races on 8K courses in the month October. Each time was faster than the UNCG school record coming into the 2010 season, and it was also at least 17 seconds faster than his previous personal best.
Thompson finished 36th at the Greater Louisville Classic (24:32), fourth at Royal Cross Country Challenge (24:40) and was runner-up at the Southern Conference Championship (24:39). His SoCon finish helped the UNCG team to its highest conference finish ever at second place, and it earned his first-team all-conference.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Ashley Schnell, UNCG, Jr.
The junior from Lincoln, Neb., ran times of 17:37, 17:48 and 17:39 in her three meets on 5K courses during the month of October. Each time was faster than the UNCG school record. Her performance at the Southern Conference Championship earned her the individual title and helped her team to a third place finish. Schnell was named the SoCon Runner of the Year and earned first-team all-conference accolades.
Other Nominees: Lauren D'Alessio (Samford).
Southern Conference October Athletes of the Month
Football (Offense) Eric Breitenstein, Wofford
Football (Defense) Jabari Fletcher, Appalachian State
Men's Soccer Hakan Ilhan, UNCG
Women's Soccer Alyssa Whitehead, Samford
Volleyball (Offense) Sarabeth Peele, Davidson
Volleyball (Defense) Sarah Havel, College of Charleston
Men's Cross Country Joey Thompson, UNCG
Women's Cross Country Ashley Schnell, UNCG